Group wants man's eye blinks barred as testimony

LISA CORNWELL
Associated PressPublished: January 4, 2013 1:18PM

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A national criminal justice organization is backing an Ohio murder suspect's efforts to exclude from his trial a videotape of a dying man's eye blinks, which allegedly identified him as the gunman.

Ricardo Woods is to go on trial Monday in the October 2010 fatal shooting of 35-year-old David Chandler in Cincinnati. Chandler was shot in the head and neck as he sat in his car. He was paralyzed when police interviewed him days before his death and could only communicate by blinking.

The judge ruled jurors can see that videotaped interview.

Prosecutors say Chandler clearly identified 34-year-old Woods as the shooter. But the defense insists the identification is unreliable.

The Innocence Project filed a motion last week supporting that request and offering research on eyewitness identification.